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Sunday, 14 July 2013

Lac-Mégantic disaster opens debate over railway regulations

Smoke rises from railway cars that were carrying crude oil after derailing in downtown Lac Megantic, Que., Saturday, July 6, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

The catastrophic train derailment that killed dozens of people in Lac-Mégantic last Saturday was probably caused by a “series of things” and not the fault of a single individual, the Transportation Safety Board says.

TSB chair Wendy Tadros cautioned against casting blame on one person alone two days after the chairman of the company that owns the train said he believes an employee failed to properly apply enough handbrakes when he left it parked at the top of a hill on July 5.

The federal Transportation Safety Board has shared details of its upcoming multi-month investigation into what it describes as possibly the worst train disaster in Canadian history.

TSB chair Wendy Tadros says the investigation into the Lac-Megantic tragedy will take many months — and perhaps longer.

She says 20 people are collecting evidence on-site, and 10 more people are working on the case in Ottawa."This may well be the most devastating rail accident in Canadian history," she told a news conference Friday in the town, where she offered her condolences to residents.